This section of FinAid provides advice to students whose parents are unable or unwilling to help students pay for school. Regardless of the situation, some of the more common questions received by FinAid come from students seeking help because their parents cannot contribute to their education.

FinAid supports changes in federal legislation that would shift the burden to the students. Unfortunately, current federal law does not provide many options for students who want to go to college but whose parents refuse to help.

The federal government and the schools consider it primarily
the family's responsibility to pay for school. They provide financial
assistance only when the family is unable to pay. If a family just doesn't
want to pay, that won't make a difference. Parents have a greater
responsibility toward their children than the government or the schools.

The US Department of Education has published guidance to financial aid
administrators indicating that neither parent refusal to contribute to the
student's education nor parent unwillingness to provide information
on the student aid application or for verification is
sufficient grounds for a dependency status override. This is true even
if the parents do not claim the student as a dependent
for income tax purposes or the student demonstrates total
self-sufficiency.

In cases of divorce, the custodial parent is responsible for
completing the FAFSA form. If the custodial parent remarries, the
finances of the custodial parent's spouse (the stepparent) must be
included. This is clearly stated in Section 475(f)3 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-329), the piece of Federal
legislation that authorizes most Federal student aid programs.

All public and private colleges follow the law not only for the
awarding of federal and state student aid, but also for the awarding
of the school's own aid. In fact, many colleges go further and
consider not only the custodial parent and stepparent's income and
assets, but also the income and assets of the non-custodial parent.

Prenuptial agreements are ignored in student aid need analysis. A
prenuptial agreement is an agreement between the
husband and wife, and as such cannot be binding
on a third party, such as the government or the college.
In addition, a prenuptial agreement cannot waive the obligation to
help pay for the children's education, as even a natural parent cannot
waive the children's rights. If the prenuptial agreement included a
clause waiving the obligation to help pay for the children's
education, most courts would declare that clause null and void.

Advice for Students and Parents

Fortunately, there are ways for parents to help with their child’s education without having to provide financially. By providing a little clarity for both students and parents, both can end up on the same page when it comes to getting help to pay for school from other sources.

Your first goal should be to encourage your parents to complete the
financial aid forms. Even if they don't want to help you pay for
college costs, by refusing to complete the forms they prevent you from
getting aid on your own account (e.g., government grants and student
loans). After you have convinced them to complete the forms you can
try getting them to help you pay for college.

What to do if your parents refuse to complete financial aid
forms.

Remind your parents that submitting the forms does not obligate
them to provide support, but that if they refuse to file the FAFSA,
you will not be eligible for any need-based aid on your own.

College financial aid administrators are permitted to offer dependent students an unsubsidized Stafford loan without requiring the parents to file a FAFSA, provided that the financial aid administrator verifies that the parents have ended financial support and will not file the FAFSA. The unsubsidized Stafford loan is not based on financial need and is a loan, but at least it's something to help you pay for school.

But if you can convince your parents to file the FAFSA, you might qualify for need-based aid, such as the subsidized Stafford loan, Perkins loan, and Pell Grant, as well as institutional aid. By not filing the FAFSA, they prevent you from getting any of this aid.

If your parents are concerned about privacy, remind them that the
confidentiality of student records, including financial aid
applications, is protected by the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA). In particular, schools will not disclose
information submitted by the parent to the student (or to the parent's
ex-spouse).

Talk to the financial aid administrator at your college. Sometimes
they are able to intercede with the parents and convince them to
complete the FAFSA. Sometimes it helps to have a third party talk with
your parents if the atmosphere between you and your parents is too
charged with emotion.

Some students have filed the forms by forging their parents’ signature. This is not advisable, as the penalties for doing this are quite severe, and if you don't have a copy of your parents’ tax return, you'll probably get caught when the numbers don't match.

What to do if your parents are involved in a messy divorce.

Talk to each parent separately. If they are concerned about the
privacy of the financial information on the financial aid
applications, have them speak to the financial aid administrator at
the school. Financial aid administrators are very careful to safeguard
the privacy of the student and parents, and will not allow one parent
to see the information submitted by the other. If the school is served
with a court order requiring them to divulge the information, they
will first inform the affected parent and not do anything until the
parent has had time to fight the order in court. Education records,
including financial aid applications and supporting documentation, are
protected by very strong federal privacy laws, such as FERPA.

What to do if your parents refuse to pay.

If you do not meet the
criteria spelled out for independent status
(see below), you are considered to
be dependent on your parents and their income and
resources will determine your eligibility for
assistance. So if your parents refuse to pay, you will have to make up
the difference. The school and the government will not help.

Talk to your parents and lay out all of your finances in front of them. Show them how much money you have and can earn, demonstrating that you're doing what you can to cover the costs. Show them how much it will cost and the size of the gap. Make it clear to them that if they don't help fill that gap, you won't be able to complete your education, no matter how hard you try.

What to do if your stepfather or stepmother refuses to
file forms or provide support.

Remind them that the federal government counts their income and
assets, regardless of their refusal. If they point to a
prenuptial agreement, tell them that this agreement is between them
and their spouse. You are not party to this agreement, nor is the
government, so it is not binding upon you. Encourage them to complete
the FAFSA, since it makes you eligible for need-based aid even if they do not help with the college costs.

What to do if your parents don't want to take out loans to
pay for your education.

Make a deal with your parents, where you agree to assume
responsibility for the payments on the PLUS loan after you graduate and get
a job. You'll graduate heavily in debt, and will have to struggle, but
at least you'll be able to graduate.

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans without Parental Information

Section 479A(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by section 472(a)(4) of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, allows dependent students to obtain an unsubsidized Stafford loan without parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if the college financial aid administrator "verifies that the parent or parents of such student have ended financial support of such student and refuse to file such form." However, most students would get more financial aid if their parents complete the FAFSA or if the student is granted a dependency override. Combine two paragraphs and remove last sentence.